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An Overview of Abortion Laws

Background

Since the Supreme Court handed down its 1973 decisions in Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton, states have constructed a lattice work of abortion law, codifying, regulating and limiting whether, when and under what circumstances a woman may obtain an abortion. The following table highlights the major provisions of these state laws. More detailed information can be found by selecting the table column headings in blue. Except where noted, the laws are in effect, although they may not always be enforced.

Highlights

Physician and Hospital Requirements: 41 states require an abortion to be performed by a licensed physician. 19 states require an abortion to be performed in a hospital after a specified point in the pregnancy, and 18 states require the involvement of a second physician after a specified point.

Gestational Limits: 43 states prohibit abortions, generally except when necessary to protect the woman’s life or health, after a specified point in pregnancy.

“Partial-Birth” Abortion: 20 states have laws in effect that prohibit “partial-birth” abortion. 3 of these laws apply only to postviability abortions.

Public Funding: 16 states use their own funds to pay for all or most medically necessary abortions for Medicaid enrollees in the state. 33 states and the District of Columbia prohibit the use of state funds except in those cases when federal funds are available: where the woman’s life is in danger or the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest. In defiance of federal requirements, South Dakota limits funding to cases of life endangerment only.

Coverage by Private Insurance: 12 states restrict coverage of abortion in private insurance plans, most often limiting coverage only to when the woman’s life would be endangered if the pregnancy were carried to term. Most states allow the purchase of additional abortion coverage at an additional cost.

Refusal: 45 states allow individual health care providers to refuse to participate in an abortion. 42 states allow institutions to refuse to perform abortions, 16 of which limit refusal to private or religious institutions.

State-Mandated Counseling: 18 states mandate that women be given counseling before an abortion that includes information on at least one of the following: the purported link between abortion and breast cancer (5 states), the ability of a fetus to feel pain (13 states) or long-term mental health consequences for the woman (8 states).

Waiting Periods: 27 states require a woman seeking an abortion to wait a specified period of time, usually 24 hours, between when she receives counseling and the procedure is performed. 14 of these states have laws that effectively require the woman make two separate trips to the clinic to obtain the procedure.

Parental Involvement: 37 states require some type of parental involvement in a minor’s decision to have an abortion. 26 states require one or both parents to consent to the procedure, while 11 require that one or both parents be notified.

▼ Permanently enjoined; law not in effect.* Exception in case of threat to the woman's physical health.
† Exception in case of rape or incest.
‡ Exception in case of life endangerment only. A 2016 New York Attorney General opinion determined that the state’s law conflicts with U.S. Supreme Court rulings on abortion, and that abortion care is permissible under the U.S. Constitution to protect a woman’s health, or when the fetus is not viable.
Ω Exception in case of fetal abnormality.
ξ Only applies to surgical abortion. In New Mexico, some but not all advanced practice clinicians may provide medication abortion.
Ф Law limits abortion provision to OB/GYNs.

€ A court has temporarily blocked enforcement of a Mississippi law that would have banned abortion at 15 weeks after the patient’s last menstrual period.

▼ Permanently enjoined; law not in effect.
§ Enforcement temporarily enjoined by court order; policy not in effect.
Ф Fetal pain information is given only to women who are at least 20 weeks gestation; in Missouri at 22 weeks gestation.
þ Both parents must consent to the abortion.
ξ Specified health professionals may waive parental involvement in certain circumstances.
◊ In South Dakota, the waiting period excludes weekends or annual holidays and in Utah the waiting period is waived in cases of rape, incest, fetal defect or if the patient is younger than 15.

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